The Storm Trysail Foundation will be hosting its annual US Sailing-sanctioned Hands-On Safety-at-Sea Seminar on Saturday May 18, 2019, at SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, New York. Following the success of past programs, the 2019 Seminar will again offer two instructional tracks: Level 100 Hands-On for new participants and advanced Level 200 available only to sailors who have previously attended a Level 100 Seminar.

Level 100 - Core SAS Training for Any Sailor

At the seminar, first-time attendees will participate in four 90-minute Hands-on "blocks" bracketed by opening and closing sessions. The four blocks include: On-the-Water man overboard and storm sails training; Survival Training in the swimming pool using inflatable PFDs and life rafts; Firefighting and Flares, where fires are extinguished and hand-held flares and parachute flares are fired by each person; Damage Control, both demonstrations and hands-on practice of key damage control skills. Highly qualified instructors and coaches are involved throughout.

The seminar will be supplemented by Storm Trysail Foundation's educational Safety-at-Sea Video Library produced by long-time Storm Trysail member Gary Jobson. These videos cover a broad range of safety-at-sea subjects and will be available to attendees online prior to the seminar. The videos and other supplemental training documents must be viewed before arrival at the seminar.

ClickHERE for a short video by Gary Jobson presenting an overview of the Hands-on Safety-at-Safety Seminar.

Level 200 - Advanced SAS Training

Three years ago, Storm Trysail Foundation successfully introduced an advanced curriculum for sailors who had attended a previous Level 100 Hands-On Seminar and sought additional training. The Level 200 sailors will spend half the day on the water, practicing multiple man overboard recovery techniques, reefing and un-reefing sails, setting storm sails, inflating a life raft, and actually abandoning ship.

The remaining half of the Level 200 day will be in a classroom with content focused on aspects of safety-at-sea relevant to sailors planning extended offshore cruising or racing. Topics will include damage control, emergency scenarios, advanced weather, and communications.

Safety-at-Sea Certification

In today’s world of yacht racing, there are two levels of offshore certification: 1) US Sailing Offshore Certification – required by many race organizers, and 2) World Sailing Offshore Survival with Hands on Training Certification - which is the highest level available and is rapidly becoming the standard for major offshore races including Bermuda, Transpac, Transatlantic, and many others.

All sailors who complete the Level 100 course and watch the Storm Trysail video library (free for all registrants) will earn a US Sailing Offshore Certificate. If they choose to earn the World Sailing certification, Level 100 participants must also take the US Sailing Online Safety-at-Sea Course (additional fee applies – see below). Storm Trysail strongly recommends Level 100 participants also take the US Sailing Online course to achieve World Sailing certification.

Level 200 participants received one of these offshore certifications when they attended the previous Level 100 program. As such, they will not receive any additional certification having participated in the Level 200 program.

Participant fees include coffee and breakfast pastries at registration, lunch, and afternoon snacks and refreshments. Once your registration payment has been processed, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from PayPal that will include your user name, password, and link to the seminar site where you can access the video library and all the pre-seminar information.

Registration Now Open

Click on the link below to register for the Storm Trysail Foundation's 2019 Hands-on Safety-at-Sea Seminar. The Level 100 course is limited to 250 attendees and Level 200 is limited to 50.

REGISTER NOW for the 2019 Seminar, click HEREWe cannot hold registrations without full payment.

The Level 100 and Level 200 Hands-on Safety-at-Sea programs are excellent means to prepare for the 2019 sailing season, whether you plan on coastal or offshore racing or cruising. I hope to see you on May 18.